Sunday, January 11 was a special day for the baby blessing of little Alice. Afterwards the family met at Eric and Rebecca's charming home for a delicious taco supper. The little girls were enchanted by the pond Eric had created, the boys were enchanted by the dogs and everyone else was enchanted with baby Alice and baby James. All of Eric's siblings were able to be there. It was especially nice that two great grandmas - Oma Dessie Bielefeldt and Grandma Margaret Sevey could attend. It was such a lovely day.

Happy Birthday to our beautiful daughter-in-law, Rebecca Folz. She has a smile that lights up the room when she enters and a contagious laugh that brings everybody together. What a loving and caring mother and a dedicated wife to our son. The entire family is thankful she is part of us. May your day be a joyous adventure.

What a beautiful day for a picnic at the park! Well.....the chilly breezes soon encouraged jackets for all but the little ones, some of whom were barefoot the entire day (was that genetically passed down from Gramie who never wore shoes except for school and church ?) Opa would have insisted on undershirts, jackets, socks and shoes for everyone if he had been there. The chilly day did not stop the adventerous grandchildren from exploring all the lakes, rocks, hills, and paths. Many treasures were found - leaves, bamboo woven matts, dead fish, rocks, and an assortment of interesting vegetation. Robin created what looked like a snowstorm when he blew the seeds of a huge cattail. The ducks on the lake were greatly excited by the abundance of bread, lettuce and one hot dog they were given by the generous Bielefeldt grandchildren. Actually the hot dog was completely ignored. But, everyone enjoyed a barbeque of hamburger, hot dogs, polish dogs, steaks and a variety of chips. One package of oreo cookies was shared by all!! David, Ben Jacob and Jesse had a great adventure walking on David's Christmas stilts. We all held our breath and were relieved as they managed to keep their balance and gave us a great performance. Some were involved in table games that challenged the intellect in spelling words as well as visual images. Some just enjoyed visiting. As the sun went down, even the little ones were chilled and all relunctantly decided to leave the fun day - but not ready to go home, most went to Beth's and had pizza. What a great time of family activity!!

Our yard--a little bit of heaven

Happy New Year!May dreams be reached with hope, joy and gratitude!